Atheistic Ads

I came across this statistc and thought I would share it.

In 1990 the national organations of American Atheists spent $200,000 on an advertising campaign to recruit new members. The results: 34 new names. That is $5,882 spent for each new name.

"The fool says in his heart, 'there is no god'." Psalm 14:1

Jesus, Son of David

Check this out!

I have been intensely studying the book of 2 Chronicles all summer. I have been doing this for my DMIN classes at Southwestern. I have learned some remarkable things, let me share one.

Have you ever read those genealogy passages? Few things are harder to find relevance in than those passages. There are even some genealogies in the New Testament, the Gospels. In our culture genealogies don’t really peak our interest that much. But, they are in scripture and a part of God’s inspired Holy Word, and therefore, we need to take them seriously.

Here was a light bulb moment for me?

In the Hebrew Bible the last book of the Old Testament is Chronicles. It is not in our English translation.(I won’t take the time to explain why here). But, in the original languages Chronicles is the last book of the OT and Matthew is the first of the new.

Stay with me.
Chronicles is all about the Davidic Covenant – the promise that an heir of David would reign on the throne forever. Chronicles is written to the people of Israel that had returned from exile. Remember that Jerusalem had been taken and the temple destroyed in 586 B.C. as a result of the infidelity of God’s people.

Chapter 36 of 2 Chronicles concludes with the exiles be allowed to return. Keep up, it’s about to get real good. Cyrus the king of Persia sent them back. They would return to their land (the promised land of the covenant). They were permitted and instructed to rebuild the temple. Everything is back in order. Land, Jerusalem, Temple, People – all part of God’s great covenant. But, at the end of Chronicles something striking is missing. The author of the book is writing a “chronicle” of the kings of Judah. He gives detailed information about these kings. But, when the exiles are returned the only thing that is not mentioned is a king. What about the Davidic covenant? What about the promise of God that an heir of David would reign on the throne forever? Nothing is mentioned about the king at the end of Chronicles. The people would have been filled with expectation and hope for the promised king.

That is where Chronicles ends.

That is where Matthew starts.

Matthew 1:1 " The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." (Matthew 1:1, ESV)
Amazing! Marvelous!

Jesus is the long expected King who would reign forever!
Does He reign in your life?

Enjoy - The Word

I was reflecting recently on my career as a student of the Bible. My reflection reminded me how much I truly enjoy God’s Word. This does not mean that there have not been dry times. There have been many times when reading the scriptures was a chore. Have you ever been reading something and thinking about something else? There have been numerous times like that. But even those seemingly fruitless attempts have not been in vain.

I can remember starting to read the Bible before I was even saved. At the age of 15 or 16 (I can’t remember exactly it was so long ago), I remember having this longing in my heart and turning to the Bible for answers. My first attempts at reading scripture weren’t that great. I tried to read straight through. Genesis wasn’t too difficult, but at 15/16 years old, I bogged down rather rapidly.

I know for a fact that my salvation was initiated and fostered by the Holy Spirit using the Word of God in my life. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

The moment the Lord redeemed me I poured myself into His Word. I desired God and the things of God, so I gave my life to Him and the study of His Word.

When I first went to college I was voracious in learning all I could about God’s Word. I went to many different Christian organizations that had Bible Studies. I went to Bible studies with the following; Bapist Student Union, Campus Crusade For Christ, Navigators, Central Baptist Church, Intervarsity, independent groups studying the bible, even my own bible study in my dorm room. In fact, I went to so many of these things, that I neglected my classes and class work and my grades suffered. That is not the way that I should have done it.

Now don’t think that I am puffing myself up in telling you all of this. In fact, it demonstrates a great failure in my life. It is to my shame that I have spent so much time in the scriptures and don’t know it better than I do. If anything, this recollection convicts me of my need to step up my dedication to the study of God’s Word.

Back to my title, in all of that time in the scriptures, I have greatly enjoyed the Word. I don’t just mean that it has been fun. There have been moments of fun and even hilarity that I can recall in the study of God’s Word. But, what I mean by enjoy is something deeper than just a “funny-ha-ha” moment. It has enriched my life beyond measure. It has filled me up in a way nothing else has or can. And do you know why? Because God uses His Word to fellowship with us. His Word has led me to encounters with Him. That is what you and I are created for. That is true enjoyment.

My prayer is that enjoyment will increase and that I will have an ever growing desire to study the Holy Scriptures that I may know Him more and more.

Parents, Kids, Alcohol

“It’s just a beer.” Is that the message that our kids receive. Look at these statistics.

* On an average day 8000 adolescents 12-17 drank alcohol for the first time.

* The primary source that supplies adolescents with alcohol is their parents. Whether they know it or not.

* Of those who took their first drink before age 14, half become dependent at some point.

* 18% of 8th graders admit to being drunk at least once.

* 34% of 9th graders report that they have consumed alcohol before they were 13 years old.

My commentary on the above statistics:
* Thinking that your kids are too young to know and learn about alcohol is a gamble not worth the risk.

* The primary influence in a child’s life is their parents. What they see you do weighs more heavily upon their perceptions than what you say. For example, if you tell your child not to drink alcohol, but they see you do it – the message they learn is that alcohol is o.k.

* 1 out of 6 people have a genetic predisposition to alcoholism. For these people, one drink, just one drink, may be all that it takes to start them down the road of a lifetime of addiction. You cannot know if your children have that predisposition.

Don’t be a stumbling block.

Birthday Party Worship

Imagine This

You have a dear sainted grandmother who is having her 87th birthday party. The whole family is invited over to celebrate her special day.

But, something is different at this party. Instead of baking grandma’s favorite cake, that everyone can share in, a questionnaire goes out before the party. It asks what each individual persons favorite cake is. As all come to the party someone has baked hundreds of special order cupcakes to meet with everyone’s personal preferences.

Why stop at the cake? Instead of everyone bringing a present to honor grandma, everyone receives their own present. It is individually selected and wrapped so that every person gets exactly what they would want.

If I was ever invited to a birthday party like that, I would go. But, there is a big problem. This celebration is no longer about the honored guest. It has become self serving and more honoring to each individual.

This story is not a perfect analogy(God is not a grandmother) but allow some latitude for comparison. The scenario above is the way many people think about church and God. Church is about honoring the Lord, but for many people it becomes about honoring themselves. The cultural mindset is that church should fit my preferences and wants. Instead of going to church to give and serve, people go to church to get and receive. “I hope this church plays music that I like. I hope that preacher preaches something that I think is entertaining.”

We all know that a birthday party is to honor one person. They get their favorite cake. Everyone brings their presents for the one being honored. That is exactly how church should be. It is about God, not me. It is about honoring the Lord. It is about serving Christ. It is about giving to Him, of my time, songs, heart, life and worship. Every Sunday is about the guest of honor. The Guest of Honor is not the preacher. The Guest of Honor is not you. The Guest of Honor is the Lord God Almighty!

Where Have All The Blogs Gone

A friend texted me yesterday asking what happened to the blog? Nothing, obviously. I have several in the works coming out soon. Due to some technical difficulties(meaning I am not a computer genius), vacation time, and general sloth, I have been lax in getting blogs out.
They are coming and I am sure they will be earth shattering (my tongue is firmly in my cheek). So, standy by for more.